Packing

Kimmy sent out an email yesterday to her contact list about purchasing donkeys for the people in Ethiopia. So far it has been met with huge success. She sent it out in the afternoon and by the evening there were already people who are going to help with 4 donkeys, and it seems the list is going to get much longer.

People desire to help, especially when they know it is a manageable task and that their efforts will not get messed up before it gets to where it is needed. This seems to come from having someone on the ground that they can trust to ensure their contribution is being handled correctly. No one wants to give to some big organization that absorbs all the funds and life giving support is swallowed up in bureaucracy. Hopefully we can change that in a small way this trip.

This seems to be tricky with a lot of government agencies. Also, think about the people who work for the agencies that are setting out the needs. I was looking at well drilling practices in Ethiopia last night and was struck by the fact that I would like to help in some way, but I am not a well driller and even if I were in America, those practices may not be the best techniques in Africa. What do we do?

There are many different ministries that supply water to Africa in the form of local wells and tapping into their resources, no pun intended, is not only smart but good stewardship. I will try to talk about this with our host as we go driving around so I can learn more and tell you all what that might look like.

We are getting close to having all the "gifts" collected up. As they come in I am reminded about how much we have and how little that is required to really change their lives. None of these things are even remotely lavish. I guess crayons would be the closest thing to it, but these type of things are requested because the kids don't have the tools to hone their fine motor skills. They have balls which work their large muscle, but now they will have tools to work the small muscles. I never really thought about that before preparing to go someplace like this. We have so much that we take for granted.